1st November 2019

Our Wedding Anniversary!  And to celebrate, we have just had a few days city break away in …..Tirana, Albania!  What a remarkable place it is, scarred by a long, brutal past but slowly emerging from the iron grip of communist control. One of the things I most enjoyed there, was talking with some young Albanians working in our hotel, who spoke good enough English to give me their thoughts on Albania’s current reality and future hopes.  It is certainly a country that greatly needs our prayer. Albanians desperately want people who visit to go and tell others that their country is a place worth seeing, even though they don’t deny the real difficulties of living there.  

I did try to offer healing prayer to a few different folk during our stay but I think things got a bit lost in translation! Those who did understand English tended to be young and strong and without any physical issues.  I did, however, have opportunity to speak with one of the young ladies in our hotel one-on-one – her name is “Any”. She is a bright, fully trained graduate physio but can earn more doing hotel work than she can in a professional medical setting.  I felt that Holy Spirit showed me three different things about “Any” - things the Father sees and loves in her and what He is inviting her into for her future.  As I explained these three things to her, she became visibly animated and moved and wanted to ask me all kinds of questions.  She told me of her belief in “something out there” but didn’t know if it is energy or karma or…..?  

We had a beautiful conversation about some pretty tough things around suffering and where God is in that.  It was a truly God-shaped, carefully guarded time where I could speak from my own testimony of first encountering Jesus in a dark time for me and then knowing Him in the best and worst of times.  His Presence is no less precious in the dark times but even more powerful and precious.  His Peace is not a concept.  It is real – it is a person, Jesus!- and His Presence can change everything, even if the circumstances are very difficult.  I spoke to her of how God is not the giver of evil but the wonderful redeemer of it. 

“Eny” is a thirsty lady – I could feel to the core that she wants Jesus!.  She said she really wanted the Peace that I have for herself.  She wants everyone to have that. She has a good friend who is Orthodox who has encouraged her towards faith too.  As you are reading this, perhaps you would pray for this dear young lady, her family and colleagues?  We parted with a warm hug and later on, as Duncan and I went out to have dinner on our last night, she followed me out onto the pavement so she could give me a beautiful wooden angel decoration to bless and thank me for helping her.   “Any” has my contact details – I pray I will hear from her one day and that she will have called on the name of Jesus and encountered Him, just as I did and encouraged her to do.  

“Is “eny” one thirsty?…..let him, let her, come to me and drink” said Jesus. (Isaiah 55:1)   Yes and Amen!! 

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